Stranded
by lululawlawlu
Summary: Law gets stranded on an island. Will it be his hell or his paradise? LawLu/ LuLaw (Rated M as it gets progressively more so.)
1. Chapter 1

_A resolute weight enveloped Law's body. He felt the frigid, stormy waves roll over his weakening form and force him helplessly down into the dark ocean. Searing pain held his lungs captive to the will of the abyss. He kept telling his body to fight but his disconnected mind couldn't will his limbs to move._

Law's muscles gave an involuntary jerk, ripping him back into consciousness. He sat up gasping for air only to find it abundant. Groaning, he brought his hands up over his face to rub away his clingy tiredness. Another bit of memory flashed in his mind.

" _Torao, look at that crazy storm!" Luffy shouted to the older captain as he gestured to an ominous group of lightning-lit clouds in the night sky. "Looks like adventure!" he laughed, flashing his signature smile._

Law's feet shifted uneasily under him as he tried to stand. He was on land- a sandy beach it seemed. He must have washed up here through some miraculous twist of fate. That would mean the images returning to him hadn't been a dream after all.

He rubbed his temples in an attempt to extract more clues from his weary brain but only a few pieces of memory came to him.

 _...a heavy rain pouring over the ship, lightning threatening to split the mast in two …Nami's horror-stricken face as she realized what she'd been sleeping through …a wave rising up to rip the young captain out of his special seat at the front of the ship._

Law was jolted fully awake by his most recent recollection- the ocean had swallowed up Luffy as well as himself.

A desperate panic had begun rising within him at the thought of never being able to see the little captain again. Despite his refusal of friendship, and attempts to keep his distance, Law had somehow become attached to Luffy. It was Luffy who continually filled his life with unexpected adventure and excitement while simultaneously throwing him headlong into dangerous situations. It was Luffy whose selfishness often left Law too exasperated to even think clearly, but who had shown him endless compassion and loyalty. The guy was a walking anomaly, but one that Law had grown accustomed to, and even perhaps one that he'd come to appreciate having in his life.

Luffy was not someone he wanted to imagine could be so quickly, so unceremoniously dealt his death, but fate was neither fair nor in Law's hands. It was no secret that the sea was their cruel, unforgiving weakness. In the darkness of night and raging of the storm, the odds of Luffy getting to be rescued by one of his crew seemed unlikely. The chances of him having washed up on the same island felt just as abysmally slim. If Law had truly believed in miracles he would have considered his own survival something akin to one- imagining that there could be two was just logically unsound.

Lazy waves broke blissfully against the sand. Some crabs scuttled by, unbothered by Law's shadow cast like an elongated spectre over them. Leaves of tall palms danced gently in the tropical breeze. The naturally relaxed atmosphere seemed to be mocking Law- suggesting that he shouldn't have a care in the world but it only made his heart sink into a pit of anguish in his stomach.

Distress washed over him and gripped his chest in agony. His eyes scanned the beach in vain hope for any signs of life or even clues that would help him to piece together Luffy's fate.

Then he saw it. A spot of red poking out of the sand in the distance. Law rushed desperately against the resistance of the shifting sand to make it to that spot and threw himself to the ground. He thrust his hands into the sand to fling it away but his fingers struck painfully into something too solid to be human. Scooping the sand away more carefully, he realized it to be the red woven cord fastened to the scabbard of Kikoku.

He tried to will his emotions away, taking deep breaths as he scooped the sand away from his nodachi, bitterly asking himself what he had expected to find. Would it have been better for him to have found Luffy's drowned body buried by the tide? Did he really think that allowing himself to even keep a spark of hope alive in his heart was healthy? Dread was already pooling in his stomach- a poisonous miasma come to choke out fool's hope and further fuel his fear of the inevitable.

Law managed to dig Kikoku free, resolute to affirm or dismiss his fears and to lay them to rest once and for all. He stood to pace his way along the shore. Surely, if anyone or anything at all had washed up on the beach they couldn't have been too far from his location.

… … … …

It couldn't have been much more than an hour since he'd begun pacing the shoreline before he felt a pang of hunger rolling in his stomach and he hadn't found much more than a few pieces of unidentifiable driftwood- no sign of anything human. Logic persuaded him that there was no possible way that another person could have been dumped farther away from him, and suggested that he'd better take care of himself if there was any chance of survival and possibly reuniting with own his crew eventually.

Law waded ankle-deep into the pristine, clear water to look for some fish. He could feel his power slowly begin to drain from him, but after a moment of stillness, several sizable fish began to dance playfully near him. In an instant he was able to initiate a small ROOM and found himself in possession of seven large, glistening fish- more than enough for a single meal. A satisfied smirk graced his lips as he used his power yet again to slash some palm branches for burning. It was almost too easy for Law to survive stranded by himself.

He used Kikoku's blade to spark a fire, and in no time at all had his fish skewered and set over the blaze. Law's worry and building hunger had kept him distracted from nearly all else, but the longer he watched over his meal, he more he became aware of just how stifling the heat around him had become. Beads of perspiration trickled down his brow and stung his eyes. He tried to wipe it away with his sleeve, but his sweat-dampened clothes did little to ease the effects the heat was having on him. The flames were making the already tropical heat completely unbearable.

Since he'd already determined himself to be in solitude, Law felt little need for modesty. He stripped himself down, tossing his clothes onto the sand to relax comfortably in nothing but his black boxer briefs- the bare modicum of decency he'd decided. He leaned back to take advantage of the minimal shade offered by the palms when he heard a rustling in the foliage.

He leapt into action attempting to dress himself against his sweat-sticky skin, though he'd only gotten one leg into his pants when none other than the infamous Monkey D. Luffy stumbled from the vegetation grumbling about his hunger. Leave it to him to have followed the smell of cooking fish.

Half-nude, Law froze where he stood. An involuntary flush of embarrassment washed over his cheeks. Of all the unlikely and entirely humiliating situations that could have possibly become a reality, Law just had to find himself in this one.

Luffy paused for a moment, eyeing him curiously before a smile broke out, spreading across his face and his excitement had him, much to Law's dismay, grabbing him in a tight embrace nearly lifting him up off of the ground. Law had never been more mortified at the situation or secretly thankful for their height difference that his feet were still on the ground.

"Torao! Thank God!" Luffy cried out, throwing his arms around the not-so-intimidating-at-the-moment Surgeon of Death.

"Yes, because I'm sure this is all God's doing," Law replied in monotone. If this actually _was_ God's doing, Law was sure as hell going to find a way to make him pay for his twisted sense of humor.

"Why are you naked?" Luffy asked, not acknowledging Law's words as he stepped back to eye the other man's body up and down.

Law's mind was completely lost to his embarrassment. He could swear Luffy must find some kind of sadistic pleasure feigning innocence while delivering a line meant to humiliate and demoralize him. He managed to express some kind of comment about being hot as he pushed the younger captain away enough to pull his pants fully on. He took up his shirt for good measure and shook the sand out of it before pulling it on over his tattooed torso.

Luffy didn't seem to be at all bothered by Law's pushing him away and had instead turned his attention to the succulent, roasting meat. He nearly dove into the fire for to claim some of the delicious prize and had already stuffed two fish into his mouth before Law's tattooed hand had grabbed his rubber cheek.

"Leave some for the guy who ho caught it," he grumbled, trying to mask the smile that tugged at the corners of his lips. Some things just never changed.

"Shishishi," Luffy laughed, "Of course, Torao. You know I love you enough to share meat with you."

Law's tongue caught in his mouth. For the second time that day he'd been left speechless- caught between whether to respond to Luffy's entitlement or his first and only blatant admission of love. Law was starting to wonder if he was actually dead or comatose- his mind separate from his body. Maybe the heat had him hallucinating. The entire situation just kept getting more and more outlandish.

Law's stomach let out a low growl and snapped him out of his thoughts. He crouched by the fire, took up a fish and began to eat. Whether he was in a coma or a dream, dead or alive, he'd just have to go along with whatever was happening. That was often the tactic one needed to cope with Luffy anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**this contains sexually suggestive content**

* * *

Law stared out toward the ocean. To Luffy it probably seemed as though he was watching the waves but his thoughts were firmly rooted in assessing their situation. They had no way of contacting the outside world, but it wouldn't be that difficult to find a way off of the island. He had Luffy and Luffy's crew members each had a piece of their captain's vivre card. Assuming they and their ship had been able to weather the storm, all he and Luffy would have to do is wait for them to follow the card back to him and pick them up from the island. Until that time, they needed to secure basic necessities like food, water, and-

"If you were stranded on a deserted island, and you could only bring one thing, what would it be?" Luffy questioned Law as he splashed along the shoreline.

"That is a ridiculous question," the Law stated. "Like us, nobody plans to get stranded on an island. It's not like you can choose what you get to have with you." In the right situation, he found Luffy's light-heartedness and naïvety to be, for lack of a better word, cute. But this was neither the time nor the place for playing around.

"You're taking it too seriously," the Luffy pouted.

"It _is_ something to take seriously, seeing as how we are _actually_ stranded on an island."

"Sometimes you gotta just have fun and enjoy the adventure, Torao."

"Alright. Fine. Then you tell me- what one thing would you bring?"

"Meat!" It was more of an automatic reflex than a real answer. "No, we can eat the animals here. But you can never have too much meat. Hmm…"

"Well, while you think of it, help me figure out what we're going to do for fresh water," Law instructed. "I don't have anything to use for trapping condensation, but maybe we could go find a lake or-."

"Ok, Let's go!" Luffy cried as he jumped onto Law's back. Wrapping his rubber legs around his companion's torso, he extended his arms up into the tropical canopy to grasp onto tree branches.

Law barely managed to grab Kikoku as he was pulled off of the ground. His mind was sent into a panic, screaming out that this was not the proper course of action- that there were countless possibilities for unforeseen dangers lurking in the unknown.

He should have known by now that to one rash little captain 'danger' would only be interpreted as 'adventure' if he tried to reason with him. And here he was illustrating that rational, pulling Law through the jungle at high speed as his rubber arms whipped out to swing them from tree to tree. Law tried to protest his treatment, in favor of cautiously approaching the area, but every time he tried to open his mouth he found himself slapped in the face by giant leaves or assaulted by tropical flowers.

Law was in a pretty sour mood by the time Luffy had stopped swinging him through the foliage. He was about to scold his careless companion when the roar of plunging water caught his ears. He looked up to see the most ridiculously picturesque waterfall he'd ever beheld in his life. The thing couldn't have looked more captivating if it had been drawn straight from his most vivid fantasy. Lush jungle vegetation framed the stream of water as it cascaded down from the cliffside into a crystal-clear freshwater lake. It left water droplets sparkling in the air and glittering on the leaves of jungle ferns. It spread a cool mist over the two captains and left a faint rainbow over their heads.

Luffy had a satisfied grin plastered across his face. "Let's explore the secret cave," he declared as if it were the most obvious course of action.

"What secret cave?"

"The one behind the waterfall."

"Mugiwara-ya, what makes you think there's a secret cave?"

Cave or not, they were getting distracted from their goal. It was nearly noon if the sun was any indication, and establishing a source of fresh water was only one thing on their list of basic necessities.

He had little time to ponder a method of transporting the freshwater before Luffy had grabbed him by the hand and drug him through the curtain of the misty falls, soaking them both completely. Sure enough, there was actually a secret cave hiding behind the wall of water for them to enter.

Law pulled off his shirt with an annoyed sigh and rung the water out of it. He dropped it at the cave entrance with his dripping hat. As if on cue, Luffy removed his own shirt and clumsily squeezed out a few drops of water before dropping it next to the other.

The cave spread out in a single long corridor beyond them. Light peeked out from all around the walls, reflected through eerily beautiful crystal stalactites that carpeted the ceiling, enchanting and inviting them.

"Let's go," Luffy urged, taking Law by the hand again and Law had to admit that it would be much better to humour Luffy for a few hours than to try to fight him on this. Besides, the way the little captain smiled up at him, eyes shimmering with hope, the magical light of a thousand tiny prisms painting him in cool tones was making it nearly impossible to say 'no'.

They leisurely strode into the cave, gazing around at the stalactites hanging down like beautiful, prismatic spears above them. They went on for some time following the reflected light and as their damp pants began to dry on their bodies, it gradually dimmed until they were nearly enveloped in darkness. Luckily enough, they noticed a faint light in the distance and followed it until they found it was only a thin sliver of light streaming through an open space in the rocks above.

"I can't see anything down that way," Luffy observed, peering farther into the cave.

"Then let's make some fire."

"Hmm… if Sabo was here we could do that…"

"We don't need your brother, Mugiwara-ya. Reach up and grab us a stick or something from outside that we can use."

Once they had retrieved the stick, Law set to trying to catch it on fire. He always was the more practical one between the two of them, so he had assumed it was up to him. At first he tried to use Kikoku's blade to reflect sunlight onto it to heat it into catching on fire as he had done for the fish he'd cooked that morning, but the tiny stream of sunlight just wasn't enough. He tried striking two rocks together to make a spark, but it wouldn't catch.

Luffy was starting to make whining, impatient noises. He threw himself onto Law's back with his arms over his shoulders in a sloppy embrace. It may have been cute in a different situation, but at the moment it further irritated Law who was growing more and more annoyed at his own inability to make fire.

"Let me give you something to do," he sighed as he motioned for the younger captain to come around and crouch down. Law broke off the stick's thinner end. He then crouched behind Luffy, straddling him, his chest pressed firmly to Luffy's back with his head at his shoulder.

"Now, spin this stick back and forth in the same spot," Law instructed as he held his hands around Luffy's, showing him the correct motion to use.

Thanks to Luffy's overzealous nature the stick caught fire in seconds. A satisfied smile tugged at the corner of Law's mouth as he watched from over Luffy's shoulder.

"Did you see that!?" Luffy laughed happily, "I made-"

Law hadn't been expecting Luffy's face to turn toward him or he would have moved. Instead he was caught unaware as Luffy turned, still speaking, his lips brushing Law's cheek. Law could feel a fluttering sensation beginning welling up from his stomach to join the heat that suddenly rose to his face.

He sprung to his feet, mind racing so fast he barely grasp onto any semblance of thought. He cleared his throat, looking away from Luffy. "Good job, Mugiwara-ya. We've got fire. Let's go," he rushed through his words.

"Kiss me back," Luffy demanded.

"Th- th- that wasn't really a kiss." Law still refused to look at Luffy. He couldn't for the sake of keeping his mind and feelings intact, though he knew his face might be betraying him, faint pink spread warm over his cheeks.

Law felt two small, rough hands clap onto his cheeks as Luffy forced his neck to turn toward him. All at once, Luffy smashed his own lips into Law's. He couldn't say it was pleasant, but he had to give Luffy credit for how passionate he was.

"Don't you want to kiss me? Don't you feel love for me?" Luffy questioned as he pulled back to look Law in the eyes. He suddenly had a much more serious, tense expression on his face, but there was a kind of innocence that shone in his deep eyes which implored an honest reaction.

"It's not that easy," Law sighed. He felt it horribly disarming to be looked at with those big eyes and confronted with that endearing little pout Luffy wore so well.

"It is that easy. If you love somebody, you kiss and touch them all over," Luffy stated simply.

"Not necessarily..." Kissing someone meant admitting to certain feelings, though not necessarily love. If he were to go throwing the word 'love' into things, then it only served to complicate their relations. How was Law supposed to explain the deeper complexities of lust, love, and even simple attraction to someone who relied solely on gut-impulses?

"Well, I want you to kiss me back."

"It's not that simple. Look, you're the kind of person who wouldn't want to share me with anyone else, right?"

Luffy nodded.

"I do have certain… feelings for you, but I don't know to what extent. It would just be troublesome if we got too involved," Law continued, hoping he was being clear enough. "You know we can't have any kind of decent relationship since we never even know if or when we'll see each other. You can't even stick to plans."

The last remark didn't at all seem to bother Luffy. They both knew it was true.

"Well, we're both here right now, and if you want to kiss me then do it," Luffy grinned as he leaned in closer. "Are you shying?"

That sounded like a challenge to Law and ordinarily he tried to let his logic rein in his emotions, but Luffy did have a point. They were both together at the moment so what did he have to lose? Why not just go for it? Forget about the future for now. It was like something in him almost snapped. He was certain that he was completely in control as he always was, but mad desire welled up inside of him, giving him courage and trying to rid him of his better judgement.

"You sure you want this, Mugiwara-ya?" Law stepped forward, nudging the flaming stick out out the way with his foot, pushing Luffy against the cave wall. His expression hardened. "You'd better be willing to accept the consequences of being with me," he added, leaning down to capture Luffy's lips with his own.

Luffy accepted him warmly, pushing back into the kiss, the fingers of one hand rooted in Law's hair while his other hand wandered casually down his back.

Slowly, Law parted Luffy's lips with his tongue and began to explore his mouth as he trailed his tattooed fingers down over the X-shaped scar on his companion's chest. This time it was Luffy's cheeks that began to redden as Law's fingers started to travel farther down over his lean, muscular abdomen to dip into the waistline of his pants and- Law stopped abruptly.

Luffy looked up at him with a pout starting to form on his lips, eyes begging to continue.

"Oh, fucking hell!" Law cried out as he caught sight of the flame at the cuff of his pants. Law danced around furiously slapping at the fire that had latched onto the bottom of his left pant leg.

Unrestrained laughter came tumbling from Luffy's mouth. Law shot him a serious, angered glare as he stood there with the bottom quarter of his pant leg singed off.

"I thought-," Luffy said through his spurts of laughter, "of my one thing."

"What?" Law was not the slightest bit amused.

"The one thing I'd bring if I was stranded on an island," he explained, wiping a laughter-induced tear from his eye. "I'd bring you."

"Not funny." Law felt utterly humiliated. "And good luck taking care of that yourself." He gestured to the obvious tenting Luffy's shorts as he strode angrily away, out toward the entrance of the cave.

Luffy chased after him. "Sorry," he apologized, biting his lower lip in a vain attempt to fight the giggles still escaping from his mouth.


	3. Chapter 3

**There is highly suggestive sexual content in the second half of the chapter.**  
**The sexually explicit version is on AO3.**

… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …

Chapter 3

"I _do_ know about sex," Luffy insisted to which Law raised a dubious eyebrow.

"Sure you do." he replied, sounding more incredulous than he'd meant. Although Law thought it unlikely, he did know that the other males on Luffy's crew, namely one curly-browed chef, had a fair collection of erotic materials. There was no real reason for Luffy to have remained ignorant of such things. It was more so that Law had never really observed Luffy acting outwardly perverse.

"I'm an adult." Luffy stated. It was true, though just barely by Law's standards. And somehow having to affirm that he was an adult, as though age equaled knowledge in this context, seemed like a childish thing to do.

"I know you are. Now, give me a hand unless you want to sleep out where bugs will eat you alive." Law bent one last supple branch into place and secured it between two trees to make up the skeleton of an enclosure. "You finish up the shelter and I'll grab us something for dinner."

It's not that Law wasn't interested in pursuing the topic of sex with his potential lover, but he was still a bit annoyed about being laughed at while caught on fire. The first and only time he'd initiated anything close to intimate physical contact with Luffy had ended in humiliation. If that wasn't enough, the situation kept playing back through his mind like a slideshow of shame as he stalked off to gather some food.

In an attempt to further his own goals, Luffy reached up and ripped out as many palm leaves as he could in one go. He carelessly tossed them on top of the branch frame Law had so carefully set up and chased after him.

"Torao~" Luffy called to the older captain.

Law turned around just in time to see Luffy's toes catch on something in the sand. He toppled face first onto the beach. His rubber leg whipped around to send a large shell flying off of his toes, and straight into the arms of a startled Law.

"What was that?" Luffy snapped his head up out of the sand.

"Hmm, looks like a conch shell." Law turned it over in his hands, admiring its figure. A spiral that gathered at one end of the shell ran up from a hollow crevice which showed its smooth interior.

"Oooohh! You use it for listening to the ocean!" Luffy excitedly snapped it up out of Law's hands. He held it to the older captain's ear and gazed up at him with wide, expectant eyes.

Law had to smile. To his enemies, Luffy was fiercely strong- an indomitable force to be reckoned with. To his friends he was exasperatingly selfish, yet compassionate and at times a source of comic relief. But to Law, at this moment, his warm playfulness and naïvety were overwhelmingly apparent. There was no other way to describe it- to Law, Luffy was just plain adorable.

"I hear the ocean, because we're right next to the ocean," Law informed him, pushing the shell in Luffy's hand to his own ear. "See what I mean?"

Luffy moved the shell away from his ear, then carefully placed it back. He frowned, having realized what Law meant. He turned to throw it into to ocean when it was taken out of his hand.

"I'll show you something else you can do with it," Law told him as he carefully snapped off the small spiral end of the shell. Luffy watched quizzically as Law then put his mouth to the newly made opening in the shell and blew, filling the hollow space inside with his breath. A low, steady sound rolled out from within the shell as if it were a trumpet.

Pure joy spread across Luffy's face as he looked on in fascination at the way Law covered the escaping air to manipulate the sounds coming out of the shell.

The older captain smirked, handing it back to Luffy who snatched it up as eagerly as if it had been the fabled One Piece.

"I'll show you how to play it later," Law told him, wading ankle deep into the water to pick around for shellfish on the rocks.

"Before or after you give me sex?" Luffy queried as he waded into the water to stand next to Law.

"Who said anything about that?!"

It was talk like that which reminded Law that maybe Luffy wasn't so naïve after all. He just couldn't be sure to what extent. All Law knew is that he did not want to mess this up- whatever it was they had going on. Law took a deep breath.

"It's best to take things slowly for your sake. Just know that I do want you, you adorable nuisance," Law told him, brushing the hair out of Luffy's face and pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

… … … … … …

 _Luffy felt Law's tongue trace the outline of his ear as his long fingers slid purposefully down Luffy's chest, awakening his nerves and sending waves of anticipation through his body. He felt Law's fingertips brush over his navel as he made his way down. Having Law's hands on him was so much better than he could have thought possible._

"Torao~"

"What is it, Mugiwara-ya?" Law asked, turning to Luffy who lay with his eyes closed, body sprawled out next to him under the sloppily constructed shelter of branches and palm leaves.

Luffy had eaten his fill and slipped directly into a food-coma to sleep it off after dinner. Law lightly pinched his rubber cheek. "What are you dreaming about?" The younger man let out a pained whine as if in reply.

Law sighed and leaned back, folding his hands behind his head. He gazed up through the holes in the canopy of leaves to piece together the constellations above. Sleep didn't come easy to Law and Luffy was starting to worry him, making strange noises in his fitful sleep.

 _Luffy mewled impatiently as Law teased him, seeming to touch him everywhere except where he desperately needed it. He was aching to feel Law inside of him. It was unbearable being denied the thing he needed most. He tried to push himself against Law as he grasped at Law's hips with his fingertips. Luffy caught a sadistic glint in Law's eyes as he leaned over, still unyielding, to whisper in his ear, "Tell me what you want."_

Luffy let out a whimper and turned his face toward Law.

Law placed a hand on his head and began to stroke his hair to comfort him, but Luffy's face contorted as his shoulders tilted backward. He looked like he was in pain.

"Hey." Law shook his shoulder. "Hey, wake up. You're having a bad dream." He shook Luffy harder, completely unaware of how very wrong he was.

Luffy's expression relaxed. His eyes blinked open briefly. A sleepy smile spread across his face as he closed his eyes again and rolled to snuggle into Law's body.

The first thing Law noticed was how warm Luffy's body was. It was comforting against the cool night breeze and he welcomed the younger man's embrace. He continued to run his fingers through Luffy's hair. It seemed to put the now smiling Luffy at ease.

The second thing he noticed, however, was Luffy's prominent erection jabbing him in the hip.

 _Luffy gazed up at Law, smitten by the look in his eyes. He smiled as Law leaned down to press his lips to his forehead and slowly trail kisses down over Luffy's flushed cheeks to his soft lips. Luffy pulled Law to him, holding him close. Law's breath fell warm against his skin as he spoke sensually in his ear, "I brought you a giant sea king steak, Luffy-ya."_

Luffy shifted in his sleep, rubbing himself against Law. As if prompted by the sight and feeling of his companion, Law could feel himself getting turned on.

'What the hell, body?' Law thought, trying to squirm out of the embrace. It didn't take a doctor to know that getting a spontaneous erection while sleeping was natural and didn't necessarily have anything to do with being sexually aroused. Law felt dirty and guilty for getting turned on while he was pretty sure Luffy was having awful nightmares. He forcibly shoved Luffy off of himself, visibly embarrassed for nobody to see.

Luffy sleepily responded with a firm bite to the shoulder.

Law cried out in pain, wrenching Luffy back to consciousness; his sleepy eyes tried to focus.

"What the fuck, Mugiwara-ya?! Why the hell did you bite me?!" Law shifted out from under the shelter, trying to examine his shoulder in the moonlight.

"Ah, sorry." Luffy spoke slowly, blinking his heavy eyelids.

Law rubbed the bite mark that marred his heart tattoo, "What were you dreaming about anyway?"

"Umm…," Luffy hummed, trying to recall the events that had played out in his sleep. "There was Torao... and then there was meat."

Law's annoyed expression gave way to one of bemusement. "You were dreaming about me?"

"And meat." Luffy added.

"Yeah, I could guess that." A smirk played on Law's lips. He leaned down to get face-to-face with Luffy, "But what do you have _me_ doing in that head of yours?"

Luffy knit his eyebrows together. His face reddened and he looked like he was straining.

"It's fine," Law conceded as he tousled Luffy's hair, "Don't strain yourself. Let's just get some rest." He sank back into his spot and put his arm around the younger captain who in turn snuggled up against him.

The two lay cuddled together under their canopy of leaves, peering up at the stars shining through its holes, listening to tropical frogs chirping in the brush.

"...Mugiwara-ya?"

"Yeah?"

"You're… uh… your thing… it's poking me."

"Yeah, it just gets hard sometimes. ...especially when I think about your body. So, what about yours?"

"...uh"

"Oh! It's getting hard, too!"

"Gah! Mugiwara-ya! You can't just grab my crotch without warning!"

"Earlier you said you wanted me, Torao."

"I do, but what the- I mean you gotta really make sure I want it now and the way you're doing it is completely unsexy."

Law was convinced that Luffy didn't have much of a clue about sex.


	4. Chapter 4

**Once again, there is sexually suggestive content in the second half of the chapter.**  
**The sexually explicit version is on AO3.*

* * *

The morning sun dappled Law's face in warm patches through the disorderly jumble of leaves that made up the roof of their shelter. He put his arm over his eyes to block out the light, fighting to stay asleep.

He'd had a very long, strange night with Luffy. Somehow inappropriate grabbing lead to a tickle fight, which lead to an aggressive make-out session, which lead to nearly-naked grappling with each other and fighting on the beach, which lead right back to making out and exploring each other's bodies until the sun was suddenly coming up over the horizon. Law was left exhausted, trying to squeeze a few hours of sleep into the early morning hours.

The squawking of gulls agitated Law's ears as they called to each other while surveying the shoreline from above. He could hear Luffy angrily shouting something about them stealing fish but was too exhausted to pull himself up from the ground. Instead he let his mind wander to other things and lull him into a listless sleep.

It was the smoky, earthy scent of burning leaves and roasting meat that finally roused Law from his spot. Crawling out from the entrance of the shelter, he stretched arms upward, extending his torso in an attempt to pull the stiffness from his muscles.

"Good morning, sleepy Torao~" Luffy called cheerfully from the top of a tall palm, releasing a shower of coconuts so that he could use his arms to wave enthusiastically at Law. He swung himself down from the tree to grab up a few coconuts and dashed over, sand splashing from beneath his feet. "There's milk inside here!" he informed Law as if it wasn't common knowledge, gesturing with the fruit.

"I got us meat, too!" Luffy smiled proudly as he handed the coconuts to Law and sauntered over to the fire to dutifully turn the skewered meat on its stick. Law caught a slightly fishy smell emanating from the roasting meat, though it didn't at all look like fish.

"Mugiwara-ya," he spoke slowly, unsure if he wanted to know the answer to the question on his tongue, "what is that meat?"

"Seagull," Luffy laughed. "They ate the fish, so we'll eat them."

Law couldn't stop his face contorting in disgust. Seagulls were filthy birds- practically flying rats. But then again, some people did resort to eating rats when starving. Law's stomach rumbled in agreement to the thought, but his brain remained skeptical. How could he persuade Luffy to abandon his catch? Surely getting more fish shouldn't be that much trouble.

"Come have some," Luffy urged him, his mouth already full of the meat. "It's really good. Tastes kinda like fish though," he continued, his voice tinged with confusion.

Law's stomach growled encouragingly and forced his thoughts to fold in complacency. They actually did smell quite fishy as though they'd routinely had a natural diet. The chances of them binging on mounds of trash in port cities seemed pretty unlikely.

For a brief moment he questioned his decision. Surely it was the combination of the lack of sleep and food that was getting to him. Trafalgar Law wasn't one to so quickly abandon his better judgment, was he? Law reluctantly took one of the skewered, roasted birds. He'd have a stern talk with himself later, but for now he just needed to eat something.

After filling their stomachs with meat and topping it off with some watery coconut milk the two found themselves lying side by side in the sparse shade offered by the lazy palms. It was a futile effort to fight the stifling heat, their bodies drenched with sweat that stuck them to their clothes. A subdued breeze danced over their skin seeming to tease them while they listened to insects chirp and sing in the jungle beyond.

"Torao," Luffy voiced, "do you want me now?"

"Now? I'd rather have a bath now, and then maybe we can think about that," Law admitted, "I feel disgusting."

"We can! We can do that! At that great spot we went yesterday!" Luffy cried as he jumped up enthusiastically pulling Law by the hands in an attempt to help him get up.

… … … … … … …

The steady crashing sound of the waterfall greeted them even before Luffy pulled Law into the clearing that surrounded the glittering pool of water.

Luffy slipped quickly out of his own clothes. He waited with bated breath for Law to join him, watching as Law unveiled his rippled abdomen and slipped off the garments obstructing his lower half. Law seemed to avoid looking at him as he strode past and dipped himself into the rocky shallows of the lake.

"Come on, Mugiwara-ya," Law addressed him still without looking at him. "It's refreshing ," he commented, scooping water into his hands to splash against his face.

Luffy didn't need an invitation. He didn't really care that much for baths and being weak to water didn't make him overly fond of the stuff in general, but Law was all the incentive he needed. He waded in and sat with Law, watching him splash water onto himself and rub his body as clean as possible. Luffy looked on, mesmerized as the water trailed down Law's decorated skin, over his toned body to join the shallow pool at his hips. The sight alone was starting to make him hard and he had to wonder if Law knew how much he was teasing him.

"I can feel you watching me," Law scolded him. "Don't just sit there being weird. Come here and let me wash you off."

Well, if he was offering, Luffy wasn't going to refuse. At this point he'd take pretty much any excuse to have Law touching him in some way. Even innocent touches felt so good when it was Law touching him.

For the first time since they'd stripped off their clothes, Law turned to look at him. Luffy's heart seized in his chest, he couldn't help the warmth blooming on his cheeks as their eyes met.

Luffy was caught a little off guard when Law pulled him closer and he nearly fell into his lap straddling him. He let Law scoop water onto his body to rub the dirt and sweat from his skin. His hands felt strong and comforting as they moved over Luffy's skin.

Luffy's eyes trailed down Law's tattooed torso as he tried to reciprocate, sliding wet palms over Law's body. The effect it was having on the other man didn't go unnoticed. The sight of him coupled with his touch sent waves of excitement through Luffy's body as Law splashed water over his back. Law's hands moved slowly, methodically downward to stroke over Luffy's ass.

Luffy was sure he was being teased. This wasn't just a bath- it was never just about getting clean and he knew that Law knew it too. Luffy couldn't take much more. He leaned in to press a kiss to Law's lips. He moved his free hand up to root his fingers in Law's hair, trying to push him into deepening the kiss.

The tip of Law's tongue just barely penetrated through Luffy's soft lips, teasing as he traced the line of his mouth. His hands traveled smoothly over Luffy's hips, coming around to rest on his thighs, thumbs tracing along Luffy's inner thighs. Luffy let out a soft moan as Law finally thrust his tongue into his mouth. He hungrily sucked at Law's tongue, welcoming him, greedy for more.

Their kiss grew desperate, heated as Luffy pushed back against the older man, tangling their tongues together, indulging in this small part of intimacy given him, willing to take even more if he could get it.

Law had to break the kiss for breath, giving Luffy licence to turn his attention elsewhere. He licked and nipped at Law's neck before sucking hard at his chosen spot.

The deep moan that escaped from Law's lips only offered encouragement to Luffy. Luffy could feel his own body aching, desperate for touch, but focused his energy on Law, placing kisses down Law's tattooed chest. Law's hitched breath told him that he seemed to like the attention.

"Oh god, Mugiwara-ya, what am I going to do once I leave you?" Law spoke.

"What?!" Luffy stopped. He pulled back to look Law in the eyes. "You can't leave me! We're lovers now! You're mine!"

"I meant after your crew follows your vivre card to pick us up and you take me back to my crew," Law explained calmly, gesturing with his hands. "You honestly didn't expect me to travel with you forever, did you?"

"You're betraying me?!" Luffy questioned staring at him incredulously. His frown deepened as he balled up his fists tightly.

Law stared right back, gaze unwavering.

Luffy let out a frustrated growling sound before unballing his fists. With a sweep of his arm he sent a splash of water straight to Law's face, then turned to retrieve his clothes and stalk off toward the beach.


	5. Chapter 5

People often assumed Luffy was an idiot and maybe he was. He knew there was a lot he didn't know. But that's why having friends was so great- they knew lots of different things. They were smart in lots of different ways. They could help each other.

That was one of the reasons he liked Law. Law didn't just make his body feel funny when he looked at him. Law was really smart about complicated stuff and no matter what unpredictable things happened, he was quick to think up some plan. Sure, Luffy's past pretty much made surviving on a deserted tropical island feel pretty mundane, but without Law he wouldn't have made sure he had things like fresh water and a shelter ahead of when he needed them.

Luffy liked to think he was good for Law too because as smart as he was, Law thought _too much_ sometimes and it made him say stupid things. That's probably what it had been at the lake too- just Law having a stupid moment out of overthinking and nothing more. It was like when he tried to break their alliance in Dressrosa or yesterday when he acted like a kiss in a cave was as serious as marriage. It wasn't… only Luffy kinda wished it was. Then maybe he could stop Law from leaving him. Their relationship had changed and just thinking about life without Law made Luffy feel like there was a big empty hole in his chest where his heart should be.

Well, they had an alliance. That had to count for something. If it came down to it, Luffy could fight against the end of the alliance, although Law didn't really have to listen to him. Law was free. Law was a captain with his own crew. He didn't have to stay with him or have adventures with him if he really didn't want to.

Besides, how much longer was Law going to want to stick around now that Luffy accused him of betrayal- probably not very long. Ok, so Luffy didn't really mean to say the word 'betray'. He knew it wasn't exactly the right word for the situation, but that's what came out of his mouth. That's how it felt.

Luffy sunk to the ground, dropping the clothes by their shelter and pulled his knees up to his chest. He was tired of thinking. He didn't know what to say or to do so he just buried his face against his knees and grumbled out frustrated, nonsensical sounds to make himself feel better.

But it didn't make him feel better and judging by how Law had looked at him, he was mad probably. Law was still thinking stupid things probably. Law was going to want to talk about it probably. Thinking and talking about things was so troublesome when people were mad. It was confusing. Sometimes it was better to shut up and fight it out, but he didn't feel like doing that with Law either. Why couldn't things just be good?

Luffy reached for his shorts, feeling for them with one hand, his head still on his knees. He kept Law's vivre card in his front right pocket. It had always made him feel good about Law when they were apart. He could look at it and could see it all crisp and in good condition. It meant Law was in good condition too even if he was being difficult right now.

His fingers brushed over the coarse demin to trace the curve of the stitches and found the opening of the pocket. He reached in with eager fingertips to grasp at... nothing? There was nothing in the pocket!

He ripped his face away from his knees, eyes darting to where his fingers were, snatching at the pocket with both hands now, prying it fully open, but it didn't open nearly as wide as it should. These were not his shorts. They were Law's pants, and now that he was holding them he realized how damp they were. That was probably his fault too, but it was nothing a little fire couldn't fix. Law had even shown him a better way to make fire without matches or anything.

… … … … … …

Law had fucked up. He hadn't meant to so openly talk about leaving Luffy. Through their time together, he'd come to realize just how ineffectual terms like 'possessive' and 'obsessive' could be when used to speak about Luffy. He'd planned to approach the topic with caution, but he'd let it slip.

What Law said hadn't been a lie. He really didn't have the intention to stick with Luffy forever, although he also hadn't wanted to fuck up their relationship- whatever kind of relationship it was. The way he'd tried to explain things probably hadn't helped. In retrospect, he realized just how condescending he probably sounded.

Even though he placed some blame on himself for not being as tactful as he knew he should probably be, Law was honestly getting tired of being forced to comply with Luffy's selfishness. Luffy seemed to have a way of insisting that following his desires was always the most important and correct course of action regardless of how carefully Law had set up his ambitions for their alliance. Now Luffy was trying to do the same with their personal relationship.

The more Law thought on it, the more annoyed he felt. He could be just as stubborn. He decided that he sure as hell wasn't apologizing to Luffy for his 'betrayal'. He'd laid out his concerns before the first time he initiated physical contact with him. He'd made it clear that he wasn't even sure he wanted to progress their relationship from anything more than allies or, in Luffy's world, the very best of friends.

He almost didn't care if they broke the alliance. The only problem was that Law's seemingly deranged ally/ friend/ lover/ whatever-Luffy-was-now was his key to getting off of the island. His own crew would stick to their plan to wait at the rendezvous point for him. If Luffy really believed that Law had betrayed him, then there was no guarantee that he'd still want to rendezvous with Law's crew. Luffy might decide to abandon their plans completely. Law would just have to form a new plan to ensure that didn't happen.

Law sat for a moment on the rocks in the shallows of the pristine pool of water contemplating his course of action. Attempting to simply fight Luffy would be counterproductive. He'd have to bribe him in some way- sea king meat would likely seal the deal. Law smiled to himself. This probably wasn't going to be so hard after all.

Law pulled himself from the water, eager to dress himself and head toward the shoreline to capture his bribe. The only issue was that his clothes were nowhere in sight. Of course, it was obvious what had happened to them. Of all the ways that Luffy could have reacted, stealing his clothes was just insanely immature.

Law wasn't going to tolerate this. He could feel his anger threatening to rise up within him as he stalked back toward the beach. He was not going to put up with Luffy's selfish, stubborn behavior.

"Mugiwara-ya, what do you think you're doing!?" Law shouted, a mixture of anger and fear in his voice as he caught sight of Luffy holding his pants over a fire on the beach. "Are you _trying_ to set my pants on fire?" Just as the word 'fire' passed his lips, the flames leap up his pants, engulfing them. In a matter of seconds, both captains were scrambling to put out the flames, but the damage was done and not much remained of Law's pants.

"Sorry about your pants," Luffy offered. "I was just trying to help and make stuff better between us."

Law was quickly losing his composure. "Help? Oh yeah, burning my clothes up is the perfect solution to all of life's little problems." He growled as he turned to snatch up his other clothes before Luffy happened to them. "It's like you're purposely trying to make me suffer. This is not how you should treat someone you supposedly care about," Law continued, trying to keep his voice level as he slipped on his damp boxer-briefs. He picked up his shirt, but caught a pungent, sweat-tinged scent from the fabric and decided better of it, tossing it next to where his shoes and hat lay by their shelter.

"I was just trying to dry your pants," Luffy shouted at him as if his intentions were obvious.

"By burning them?" Law spat. "Do you ever think about what you're doing before you do it?"

"Do you ever think about what you're saying before you say it?" Luffy snapped back.

"Of course I do," he lied. He just liked to feel like he was in control even when he wasn't, and right now he really wasn't. "I plan everything precisely."

"Then why are you planning to hurt me? You wanna just use me for sex and leave me?"

"Is that seriously what you think? You think I want to hurt you?" Law questioned him incredulously, moving to stand a little too close to the younger captain- using his height for intimidation.

"Why else would you say you want to leave me just like that? You can't just leave me like that. I won't let you." Luffy was gritting his teeth, seething in emotion. He wasn't intimidated by Law standing over him.

"I never said I _wanted_ to leave you. It's just an inevitability that we'll go our separate ways. Let me explain how this allies thing works for the millionth time. You should have my vivre card _if you haven't lost it already,_ so if it starts to wilt-"

A look of something akin to shock passed over Luffy's face, his eyes blow wide, his expression washing blank for a second before his mouth twisted into a deep frown. He grabbed Law by the shoulders nearly tight enough to bruise.

"I _do_ have your vivre card. That's how I found you on the island. I check it all the time! I get really worried about you, stupid Torao," Luffy admitted shaking him, voice quivering as he looked up into Law's eyes. Luffy suddenly seemed as though he might cry, eyes glistening, tears pooling at the edges.

Law felt shaken. It was like Luffy's attitude had completely changed in a split second. Was it something he said? Law had been expecting a bitter fight and possibly the end of their alliance, not this strange turn of emotion.

"I don't wanna lose you. I- I won't ever lose anyone I love ever again- ever! I take care of vivre card so seriously- so seriously!" Luffy cried out, his voice nearly cracking as he said the words, tears started to spill from the edges of his eyes, rolling down his cheeks. "But what if you're in trouble and I can't make it in time or I do but something goes wrong or- or- I can't lose you. I just can't."

It took Law a moment to piece things together. There was only one other time Law had ever seen Luffy this upset. There was only one person he knew of that elicited this kind of anguished sobbing from Luffy when brought to mind- the only reason Law could surmise that Luffy would be so afraid of losing another person.

"Mugiwara-ya, I'm not-"

"I know," Luffy interrupted, voice weak, body shaking, "I know you're not him."

"Look, you can't always stop me from getting hurt or dying. It's just another inevitability," Law spoke. He took a deep breath and tried to let any negative feelings he had fall away. Law had had no way of knowing what was going on inside Luffy's head, but he nevertheless felt a little guilty for having treated Luffy's feelings as irrational when there had been such a deep-seated fear of losing someone he cared about at the center of it all. He pulled Luffy close.

"We don't know what's going to happen in the future," Law continued, "but don't you think it's best to live a life free and full of adventure even if it comes with danger? That way you'll live free of regrets."

"Yeah," Luffy accepted, his voice muffled against Law's chest, "but I get scared sometimes when I think about you being too far away. And don't you wanna have adventures together?"

"Well, sometimes. But it's fun to have adventures alone sometimes too, right?" Law reasoned. "Then I could tell you fun stories about what I did when you weren't there. Like when I went to went to Wano ahead of you and you went to rescue Blackleg-ya."

"I don't know. I think my adventure was more fun to listen to that time. And besides, I didn't care about you then the same way I do now. Things are different between us now," Luffy asserted.

"Maybe, but we don't know what lies ahead. I don't want to hold you back from your ambitions and I know you don't want that for me either."

"Yeah, but I'll miss you, Torao, so you'd better have adventures with me sometimes too."

"Sure. For now let's plan to not have a plan."

"That doesn't sound like you."

"And you overthinking the future doesn't sound too much like you."

"Yeah. Maybe we are spending a little too much time together, but I still don't think it's a bad thing."


End file.
